Current Research

Ongoing projects include the following: 1) Studies of neurological damage and recovery after spinal contusion injuries. These experiments involve the development of sensitive behavioral measures for assessing recovery of function, as well as studies in which potential treatments for human cord injury are tested in an animal model. 2) Studies of cell death and regeneration after CNS injury, emphasizing the cellular events that determine which cells die, and whether new cells and regenerating axons can contribute to repair. 3) Neural transplantation: glial restricted precursor cells and engineered fibroblasts are transplanted into contusion lesions, 4) In vitro studies of microglia, oligodendrocytes, and neurons.

These various projects represent studies of different but related aspects of neural development, plasticity, degeneration, and repair. A long term goal of the Beattie and Bresnahan laboratories is to contribute knowledge that may be useful in establishing better treatments for neurological disorders, especially spinal cord injury.

Techniques

Our laboratories use a variety of techniques to study plasticity and recovery of function, and collaborations with several other laboratories offer additional training opportunities. Current projects include the use of the following devices and techniques: electron and light and confocal microscopy, routine molecular biology techniques, immunohistochemistry, tissue culture, behavioral analysis, EMG recording and telemetric pressure recordings, live-cell imaging techniques.